Financial structure and the profitability of manufacturing companies in Nigeria

Finance mix is a major factor that affects the liquidity and the going concern of a business enterprise. After an idea has been conceived by an entrepreneur, there is need to also analyse the capital required for startup and means of financing the project. A good combination of sources of finance is expected to boost the profitability of an organization, but if not properly mixed, could have a negative effect on the profitability of the organization. The main objective of the study is to evaluate the effects of financial structure on the profitability of manufacturing companies in Nigeria. This study employed the use of secondary data. The Spearman’s Rank correlation and regression techniques were used for analysis, using the STATA Package for a sample of 25 manufacturing companies quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange for the period 2008-2012. The study showed that equity has a significant positive relationship with the profitability of manufacturing companies in Nigeria. The study recommends that managers should place greater emphasis on the facilitation of equity capital and policy makers should encourage manufacturing companies by reducing the cost of debt.peer-reviewe

Financial Structure and the Profitability of Manufacturing Companies in Nigeria

Finance mix is a major factor that affects the liquidity and the going concern of a business enterprise. After an idea has been conceived by an entrepreneur, there is need to also analyse the capital required for startup and means of financing the project. A good combination of sources of finance is expected to boost the profitability of an organization, but if not properly mixed, could have a negative effect on the profitability of the organization. The main objective of the study is to evaluate the effects of financial structure on the profitability of manufacturing companies in Nigeria. This study employed the use of secondary data. The Spearman’s Rank correlation and regression techniques were used for analysis, using the STATA Package for a sample of 25 manufacturing companies quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange for the period 2008-2012. The study showed that equity has a significant positive relationship with the profitability of manufacturing companies in Nigeria. The study recommends that managers should place greater emphasis on the facilitation of equity capital and policy makers should encourage manufacturing companies by reducing the cost of debt

Labour Productivity in Construction Industry in Nigeria: Case of Lagos and Port Harcourt, Southern Nigeria

The problem of labor productivity in construction industry in Nigeria has been an issue of concern to most contractors and professionals.  This paper attempts to identify the factors that affect labor productivity by conducting a survey that relates to these problems encountered at construction sites.  Eighteen (18) problems that could affect construction labor productivity were identified and a qualitative survey was conducted using questionnaires.  One hundred and twenty (120) questionnaires were distributed out of which 104 were returned (87%).  The problems were ranked in their answers in terms of ‘very often’, ‘often’, ‘sometimes’ , ‘rarely’ , or ‘never’.  The analysis of the survey was performed using the importance index.  The values of the importance indices identified the involvement of non professionals, material shortages; variation in cost of materials, recruitment of supervisors, inclement weather, stoppage because of owner/landowners conflict, stoppage because of insolvency of subcontractor/suppliers, labor disruption, delay in material deliveries to site, disruption of power/water supply as the major factors affecting labor output.  The recruitment of workers was identified as of little significance in the studied areas. Keywords: Construction, Labour productivity

Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices in Ghana

The contribution of the agricultural sector to Ghana's economy has been dwindling in relative terms from a high of 39 per cent in 1990s to about 21 per cent in 2014 (ISSER, 2015). This reduction to the sector’s GDP notwithstanding, sector continues to play a major role in the country’s socio-economic growth. However, the sector is threatened by the effects of climate variability and climate change. There are already efforts being made at various levels to address this threat through the adoption and adaption of various technologies and practices. This paper profiles technologies and practices that respond to CSA principles and characteristics in the northern Guinea savannah and Forest agro-ecological zones of Ghana. Two regional workshops were held in Wa and Kumasi for the savannah and forest zones respectively. Over 200 participants consisting of farmers, NGOs, FBOs, MoFA directors and extension workers, traditional rulers, District Chief Executives, Academia and researchers were involved in the technology identification and profiling employing a matrix-ranking tool in the working groups at the various workshops. Participants identified 61 and 21 CSA technologies and practices in the Guinea Savannah and the Forest zones respectively and recommended scaling up of these technologies in the various zones. While the traditional rulers and farmers bemoaned the lack of synergy among the institutions involved in CSA and the lack of policy continuity, policy makers called for strengthening of collaboration between the stakeholders for CSA. The policy and decision makers further called on scientists to make CSA accessible at the farmer level through demonstrations and fact sheets for awareness creation and education and promised to support research and extension with the needed funds. Representatives of Academia and Research on their part pledged solutions that are sustainable and have climate change adaptation and mitigation effects for profit and the well-being of farmers

Scaling up of CSA Platforms at the Subnational (District) Levels in Ghana: a Progressive Achievement of Theghana CCAFS Science-Policy Platform

Globally the picture on climate change and its effects on humanity appear quite disturbing as food systems and consumption patterns are sliding towards low against prediction values. In Ghana population expansion as a driver has quadrupled now and calls for more food and fibre needs than ten decades ago (Karbo et al, 2015). The awareness of climate change on socio-economic development among development workers, scientists and policy decision makers appears high though more attention has been given to the search for biophysical solutions than the policy institutional environment enabling their uptake. The CCAFS programme in West Africa coordinated by ICRISAT, Bamako involving Ghana, Mali and Senegal was able to set up national multi-stakeholder platforms for sharing information on climate change and related policy issues. The platforms also provide a linkage mechanism between research, policy decision makers and community level actors in order to positively influence climate change investments and project trajectory in agriculture with effective adaptive, resilient and mitigation outcomes at the farmer level. The Ghana CCAFS Science –Policy Platform formation preceded with a meeting held in Burkina Faso in 2013 where a three member team from Ghana was involved with subsequent drafting and submission of proposal in request for funding leading to its establishment. The Ghana national climate change science policy platform as a multi-stakeholder institutional innovation came into being in 2013 with the support of CCAFS West Africa, set out to bridge science-policy literacy gap at the national and sub-national levels. In 2014, Ghana through the collaborative efforts of the national Platform implemented CCAFS Flagship4 activities which sought to deepen interaction at all levels. This culminated into the establishment of platforms at Lawra, Jirapa and Nandom districts with the view to strengthen climate change discourse, attitudinal change and actions at that level while maintaining a vibrant functional linkage mechanism with the national platforms for policy influence. An assessment of climate change policy and institutional context by Essegbey 2014, in these three districts, revealed that large gap exists between the national and subnational levels in terms of policy development and dissemination. The report identified weaknesses in harnessing societal grassroots inputs for policy formulation process and lack of awareness and knowledge about the policy especially in the decentralized levels of society in these three districts (Essegbey 2014). This suggests that policy literacy is very low and could pose challenge to effective implementation of the NCCP. The establishment of these platforms were necessary to help bridge the policy literacy gap. Today, these platforms provide soft landing for research activities and projects such ASSAR project, Water and Land Ecosystem project etc. The platforms also provide inputs into the districts level development annual plans. Effective networking with other local and international bodies have also been recognised. This info note seeks to give a process description of the scaling up of district sciencepolicy platforms in Ghana, the structures, the perceptions of the actors with particular reference to the platform, perceived functions, fears and organizational leadership diversities

Ceftriaxone-Resistant Salmonella enterica Serotype Typhimurium Sequence Type 313 from Kenyan Patients Is Associated with the blaCTX-M-15 Gene on a Novel IncHI2 Plasmid

Multidrug-resistant bacteria pose a major challenge to the clinical management of infections in resource-poor settings. Although nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) bacteria cause predominantly enteric self-limiting illness in developed countries, NTS is responsible for a huge burden of life-threatening bloodstream infections in sub-Saharan Africa. Here, we characterized nine S. Typhimurium isolates from an outbreak involving patients who initially failed to respond to ceftriaxone treatment at a referral hospital in Kenya. These Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium isolates were resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, cefuroxime, ceftriaxone, aztreonam, cefepime, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, and cefpodoxime. Resistance to β-lactams, including to ceftriaxone, was associated with carriage of a combination of blaCTX-M-15, blaOXA-1, and blaTEM-1 genes. The genes encoding resistance to heavy-metal ions were borne on the novel IncHI2 plasmid pKST313, which also carried a pair of class 1 integrons. All nine isolates formed a single clade within S. Typhimurium ST313, the major clone of an ongoing invasive NTS epidemic in the region. This emerging ceftriaxone-resistant clone may pose a major challenge in the management of invasive NTS in sub-Saharan Africa

Systems and Operations of the Ghana Science-Policy Dialogue Platform on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security

The threat posed by climate change and its variability within sub-Saharan Africa especially West Africa is compounded by its weak economies and high dependence on Agriculture as a major driver of economic growth. Ghana has since 2010 undertaken several initiatives towards development of comprehensive programmes (strategies) to enhance national adaptation to climate change. Diverse governmental and academic/research institutions, private sector and individuals have initiated programmes and projects aimed at delivering on CSA to enhance livelihoods, increased agricultural production and sustainable socio-economic development. However, the activities of these stakeholders in the climate change arena appeared isolated, disjointed and uncoordinated to reap desired benefits. In response, the CCAFS programme in West Africa coordinated by ICRISAT, Bamako involving Ghana, Mali and Senegal was able to set up national multi-stakeholder platforms for information sharing and learning on climate change and related policy issues. The Ghana CCAFS Science-Policy Dialogue Platform having been operational since November 2012 has wealth of experiences to share. This note is therefore designed to highlight the profile of Ghana’s platform, its structure and composition and the key achievements over the past 4-5 years of existence

The Role of Marketing Capabilities as a Resource-Based View on Organizational Performance

This study seeks to review existing literature on the significance of Marketing Capabilities as Resource Based View and its relationship on organizational performances that is explaining the logical step from marketing capabilities to a positive Organizational Performance. Further exploration is studied to understand the Marketing Capabilities as a Resource based view and innovation capabilities deeper. Recommendation have been presented on the implications of marketing capabilities application of business operating in domestic and international markets

Sex Moderates the Fitness Tests - Performance Index Relationship in Collegiate Basketball: A Case Study

Performance indicators are used widely in sports, including basketball. Those total performance metrics are mathematical models that are used to determine the “best” athlete per game/week/season. Players with higher metrics get recruited more and/or get offered better contracts. During offseason, strength and conditioning coaches (SCCs) perform tests to determine the fitness levels of their players. Although those scores differ by sex, the fitness levels are associated with in-season sport performance and, therefore, performance indices. More insight in the fitness tests - performance index relationship in the collegiate basketball and the differential effects by sex would be valuable for all stakeholders (e.g., SCCs, sport coaches, sport agents). In the US, the Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and Efficiency (EFF) are the most commonly used basketball performance indices. PURPOSE: To investigate a) correlation between the uPER and EFF by sex and b) which fitness test most strongly correlates each index by sex. METHODS: Ten male and eight female basketball players (n = 18) from the same college participated. Several fitness tests (full court sprint, bench press, power clean, vertical jump, standing broad jump, and T drill) were performed in the off-season. Performance data, which were collected throughout the following season, were used to calculated unadjusted PER (uPER; equation not shown for space) and EFF (PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK − Missed FG − Missed FT - TO) / GP). To examine the characteristics of fitness test distributions by sex, the means and standard deviations were generated for each sex. Pearson correlations were estimated as indicators for the relationship between the performance indices and also the relationships between each of the fitness tests and the performance indices by sex. RESULTS: Our results showed lower means and less variability of the fitness tests scores in women than men. The correlation between uPER and EFF in men was moderate (r = .359) and strong in women (r = .662). No strong correlation was found in men between any fitness test and EFF, while full court sprint was strongly correlated with uPER (r = .738). In women, strong correlations were detected between a) T drill and EFF (r = .574) and b) foul court sprint (r = .610), vertical jump (r = .662), and T drill (r = .659) and uPER. No statistical inferences were made due to the nature of the study. CONCLUSION: Our outcomes suggest that uPER and EFF reflect different amounts of information based on sex. Practical implications include that a) foul court drill scores may predict uPER more accurately in both men and women and b) T drill scores may predict both EFF and uPER more precisely in women. Future, larger-scale studies should replicate in other settings with larger samples. Limitations may include small sample size